The Christmas holiday season is not complete without a visit to the high school gyms around the St. Louis area to watch basketball tournament action.
My first visit of the week was to MICDS on Thursday to watch the first-round girls’ games at the Don Maurer Invitational Tournament.
The host MICDS Rams defeated Ladue 65-42 to advance to the semifinals. MICDS features one of the country’s top freshmen in guard Jordyn Haywood. The 6’0” guard was as good as advertised as she scored a game-high 25 points. Ladue was led by 6’0” sophomore forward Tamera Currie, who scored 19 points.
In the first game, top-seed Fort Zumwalt West defeated Westminster 58-16. West is looking to repeat as tournament champions and their title defense off to a strong start. The Jaguars were led by senior forward Heidi Pickett and senior guard Madison Blomenkamp, who scored 12 points each. Seniors Makenna Jennings and Madison Washington added 10 points apiece.
In Game No. 2, Lafayette defeated Clayton 49-38. The Lancers were led by senior guard Taylor Mania with 21 points and freshman forward Bella Graham with 14 points. Clayton was led by senior guards Taylor Miller and Lauren Young, who scored 12 and 11 points, respectively.
The only surprise of the first round came when No. 7 seed Kirkwood defeated No. 2 seed Collinsville 49-38. The Pioneers were led by 5’9” junior guard Brooke Rose, who scored a game-high 26 points. Collinsville was led by 6’1” senior forward Talesha Gilmore’s 25 points.
The semifinals will be held on Friday night with Fort Zumwalt West vs. Lafayette at 6 p.m, followed by MICDS vs. Kirkwood at 7:30 p.m. The championship game will be held on Monday, December 30, at 6 p.m.